Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Why Millions Are Trying FDA-Authorized Alternatives to Big Pharma’s Weight Loss Drugs

KFF Health News Original

Although Novo Nordisk and Lilly lump together the pharmacies that compound semaglutide and tirzepatide with internet cowboys selling fake drugs, there is a distinction. The FDA has offered Americans little clarity about the vast gray and black markets for the drugs.

California Forges Ahead With Social Media Rules Despite Legal Barriers

KFF Health News Original

State lawmakers are advancing two bills aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media, part of a nationwide wave of efforts to address the issue. Yet the bills’ proponents face hurdles in finding an approach that can survive legal challenges from the tech industry.

Un grupo médico atiende a personas que viven en la calle… y gana dinero

KFF Health News Original

Estos médicos, enfermeros y trabajadores sociales se están desplegando en las calles de Los Ángeles para ofrecer atención médica y servicios sociales a las personas sin hogar: soldados de un nuevo modelo de negocio que está arraigándose en comunidades de toda California.

A California Medical Group Treats Only Homeless Patients — And Makes Money Doing It

KFF Health News Original

Healthcare in Action, a California medical group that exclusively serves homeless people, has tapped into growing demand and funding for street medicine services. Three years in, the innovative nonprofit is raking in revenue and serving thousands of people who otherwise might flock to the hospital for high-cost care.

El plan de Montana para frenar las sobredosis de opioides incluye máquinas expendedoras

KFF Health News Original

En todo Estados Unidos, las máquinas expendedoras que distribuyen naloxona y otros suministros de salud de forma gratuita se están convirtiendo en elementos de primera línea en la lucha contra las sobredosis de opioides. Diferentes versiones del modelo se están probando en al menos 33 estados.

Tennessee Agrees To Remove Sex Workers With HIV From Sex Offender Registry

KFF Health News Original

For years, Tennessee has required anyone convicted of prostitution while HIV-positive to register as a sex offender for life. In response to DOJ and ACLU discrimination suits, the state has agreed to reverse course.

A Little-Recognized Public Health Crisis

KFF Health News Original

About every 12 minutes, someone is killed on America’s roads and countless others are injured. More than 42,500 people died in car crashes in 2022, a death toll that rivals or surpasses those of other major public health threats, such as the flu and gun violence. “We have not recognized that traffic violence is a […]

Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.

KFF Health News Original

Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It’s stressful and annoying — but legal.

An Arm and a Leg: The Woman Who Beat an $8,000 Hospital Fee

Podcast

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Georgann Boatright, a patient in Mississippi who was willing to drive to another state to avoid paying a steep fee to her local hospital.

Before Michigan Legalized Surrogacy, Families Found Ways Around the Ban

KFF Health News Original

Until this spring, Michigan was the only state that had a broad criminal ban on surrogacy. Many families say that left them in limbo: forcing them to leave the state to have children, finding strangers on Facebook who would carry their child, or going through the legal hassle of having to adopt their biological children.

Despite Past Storms’ Lessons, Long-Term Care Residents Again Left Powerless

KFF Health News Original

Even after multiple massive power outages — including one from a 2021 winter storm in Texas that prompted a U.S. Senate investigation — little has changed for older Americans in senior living facilities when natural disasters strike.

Colorado Poultry Workers Battle Bird Flu in Heat Wave as US Struggles to Contain Outbreak

KFF Health News Original

So far, all 10 cases reported nationally this year at dairy and poultry farms have been mild, consisting of respiratory symptoms and eye irritation. Scientists have warned that the virus could mutate to spread from person to person, like the seasonal flu, and spark a pandemic.